Our Mission

There are an estimated 400,000+ Feral/stray cats on Maui!

Jody with cats

My name is Jody, I’m The Caretaker for 3 of the largest Feral Cat Colonies in Maui County Hawaii. As a caretaker for Feline Foundation of Maui they provided the spay/neuter for any colony cats that I trapped.Working with Feline Foundation, Maui Humane Society, 9th Life of Hawaii, and SPCA of Maui in 5 years I have trapped and fixed over 1500 feral cats. My colonies are 99% fixed and Trapping Feral Cats is better than any day of hunting or fishing I have ever had! And I don’t have to kill anything, and I want to continue so I started thinking of how to Fix Maui’s Problem. Yes, that’s me in the blue shirt in the “Too Many Cats” video… such good work by so many Volunteers. In the Video I talk about my plan to trap, neuter, and return (T.N.R.) 100 cats a day if we want to stop the revolving door of trap and kill that has been continuous forever on Maui. On January 5, 2013 I started “Feral Cats Maui” a 501c3 no kill dog and cat rescue dedicated to T.N.R. to reduce and stop the overpopulation of these animals. Our ultimate goal over time is to start a spay/neuter clinic that can serve the public to pay for the spay/neuter and vetting of 100 feral/homeless cats a day.

We are starting project “T.N.Return a Sterile Feral.” We are in need of Vet style holding cages for sick/injured rescues, 50 to 100 new traps, trap covers, wet/dry cat food, food/water dishes, litter, litter trays, cleaning supplies etc. Medical issues are a big one, we need to vet and evaluate each cat/dog on an individual basis usually done before/at time of neutering because of the wild nature of these animals. Here we de-flea/de-worm, treat any injury or other medical issue, then evaluate conditions for recovery, release and/or place for adoption. We are a new non-profit but not new to T.N.R on Maui. We are asking for much needed help and support to stop the overpopulation and suffering of these animals. With your help, future visitors might not have to see “Too Many Cats” during their vacation, so if you can’t help with a contribution, please share our story to help us win the fight against over-population.

Trapping, neutering, and returning cats is the unquestionable population control solution. However, feral cat management is more about colony location, protection, and activity.

Jody Sparks founded Feral Cats Maui, Inc as a non-profit organization in order to be an advocate for feral cat colonies. As a Sterile Feral (TM) advocate, his mission is to identify, protect, feed, neuter, and keep healthy feral cat colonies on Maui and to recruit and train prospective cat colony caretakers and provide assistance to existing caretakers as requested. The mission is best accomplished working in the field with the cats, cat supporters, and cat detractors. It starts locally with education.

The 3 Step Solution to Feral Cat Overpopulation

Educate the public about the problem & how they can help.

Institute laws for Maui requiring all pet cats to be registered and neutered, and all imported cats to be sterile.

Trap, neuter, and return all existing feral cats, 100 per day.

A feral cat needs the same attention as a pet in one’s house. The feral cats on Maui were once pets or are offspring of a pet. They have no advocate except for the caretaker who steps forward to aid.

Jody Sparks has received small amounts of public contributions over the 7 years mainly from visitors to Iao Valley who were present during feeding time. The donated services of veterinarians were also a great contributor to the task. Now as a newly-formed non-profit organization, Jody seeks funding in order to hold daily clinics to achieve the goal of sterilizing 100 cats per day.

Also essential to the mission, Jody’s cat-trapping skills developed over the years and the peaceful conflict resolutions skills acquired through interactions with those causing harm to the cats will be extended to other cat colony caretakers. Not all caretakers have the talent or courage to approach people who are treating cats inhumanely without placing themselves in harm’s way.

For more information about adopting a cat, please call Jody at 808-269-2940, or use our contact form.